Raptors 96, Hawks 86

Reuters

Raptors 96, Hawks 86: Kyle Lowry scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the final 3:12 as host Toronto stormed back to beat Atlanta.

Lowry overcame early ineffectiveness to lift the Raptors to a 36-15 fourth-quarter scoring advantage as they extended their lead to two games over the Brooklyn Nets in the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division. DeMar DeRozan added 21 points while Jonas Valanciunas contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Toronto cut a seven-point halftime gap to two on a Valanciunas hook shot just 2:17 into the third quarter, but went more than five minutes without a field goal as the Hawks pushed the lead back to double digits. Toronto stormed back early in the fourth, making it a one-point game on Lowry and DeRozan 3-pointers and surging ahead for good on Lowry's mid-range pull-up shot off glass with 3:12 remaining.

The Raptors got off to a dreadful start, shooting 5-for-18 while committing seven turnovers as the Hawks rode 12 points and four steals from Carroll to a 25-16 advantage after one quarter. The advantage grew to double digits on a Lou Williams 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 10:38 remaining in the first half, but a Terrence Ross dunk spurred a late rally capped by a Valanciunas jam as Toronto trimmed the deficit to 49-42 going into the intermission.

GAME NOTEBOOK: SG Shelvin Mack made his second straight start for Kyle Korver, who remained in Atlanta with back spasms. ... Lowry added four of Toronto's 12 steals. ... Toronto finished with a 45-38 rebounding edge.